Merry Ole Soul is a Christmas album by jazz pianist and arranger Duke Pearson, featuring performances recorded in 1969 and originally released on the Blue Note label.Duke Pearson discography accessed September 13, 2010
Reception The AllMusic review awarded the album 2 out of 5 stars.[ Allmusic Review] accessed September 13, 2010
Track listing "Sleigh Ride" (Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish) - 6:25 "The Little Drummer Boy" (Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone) - 5:47 "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin) - 2:00 "Jingle Bells" (James Pierpont) - 5:10 "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie) - 4:07 "Go Tell It on the Mountain" (Traditional) - 3:44 "Wassail Song" (Traditional) - 3:04 "Silent Night" (Franz Gruber, Joseph Mohr) - 4:12 "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (Phillips Brooks, Lewis Redner) - 1:14 Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on February 25 (track 1) & August 19 (tracks 2–9), 1969 A 2004 import CD reissue of the album on Toshiba EMI includes an outtake from the sessions, "Old Fashioned Christmas", as a bonus track.
Personnel Duke Pearson - piano, celeste (tracks 1, 3) Bob Cranshaw - bass (tracks 1–8) Mickey Roker - drums (tracks 1–8) Airto Moreira - percussion (tracks 4, 5, & 7)
References